


A delicate balance

by superkitten



Category: The Bold Type
Genre: Drama, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Light Angst, Mentor/Protégé, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2020-01-11 05:11:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18423537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superkitten/pseuds/superkitten
Summary: "You do realize that if you're fired because the board doesn't like this story I'll forever be known as the writer who got Jacqueline Carlyle fired. Twice."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know what you're thinking - "But Tati, you already have a WIP that hasn't been updated in ages. Why are you starting a new story?" To which I can only say, I don't make the rules, where my muse goes, I follow. I just think about Jacqueline Carlyle a lot, and writing is therapeutic for me.
> 
> Also, I should warn you that the premise for this story is based on tidbits from a couple of s3 trailers, a spoilerish EW article on the new season that mentions Jane/Jacqueline's dynamic, some stuff Katie said during a live interview with ET yesterday (where she answered my question, btw!) and the synopsis for s03e04 (which can be found on thefutoncritic.com in case anyone is curious). When the episodes air in a few weeks we'll see how incredibly wrong I got some things here, and this story will inevitably deviate from canon - but then again, all of my stories do at some point, so I don't see how it hurts anything.
> 
> So, here's a final SPOILERS AHEAD warning from me, and let's just jump into it.

"Anything happen at work today?"

The question cuts through the fog in Jacqueline's brain, and she's about to chastise her husband for bringing up work while they're having dinner as a family (breaking an important parenting rule of theirs, established a long time ago) when she notices they're alone at the table.

"The boys are in their rooms - you sent them there to finish up their homework about ten minutes ago," Ian explains, his voice gentle and the corners of his eyes crinkling in amusement.

"So my parenting skills also work on autopilot - good to know," quips Jacqueline, twisting the napkin in her lap with both hands before taking a sip of water.

Ian doesn't say anything, patiently waiting for her to answer his question. She feels bad for allowing work to intrude in her home life, but she can't help it. "I'm sorry-- I just have a lot on my mind."

"Lemme guess - that Patrick guy not making things easy for you?"

"Uh, no, definitely not," Jacqueline manages to say, the mention of the new editor of digital's name enough to make her wish the water would magically turn into vodka in her glass.

"What did he do this time?"

Jacqueline sighs, fighting and resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose in frustration. "It's not any one specific thing, it's..."

She shakes her head, deciding the best way to explain this to Ian is to get to the heart of the matter. "He doesn't seem to understand that digital and print need to work together, not compete."

That's one of the main reasons the board decided, back in the day, when digital became a big part of their business, that it would be best if Jacqueline ran it alongside print. At the end of the day, even though the content is not the same and there are clear differences between the two mediums, both are variations of Scarlet, and need to be cohesive in order to accurately represent the Scarlet brand.

Her demotion made it clear to Jacqueline the sound reasoning behind that decision ceased to matter the moment the fragile egos of the men of the board were bruised by her publishing Jane's story on their healthcare policy. It pissed Jacqueline off, not because they took digital away from her, not necessarily, but because they took the opportunity to send her a message instead of acting in the best interest of the magazine.

Jacqueline doesn't have any regrets, however. She was able to affect change, which was the whole point of running Jane's article.

"He any good at his job?"

She nods. That's the frustrating part - Patrick is good. He has fresh ideas and if they would just work together as team Jacqueline knows they could accomplish great things. She just wishes he'd listen to her instead of dismissing her advice at every turn, and stop his childish, passive-aggressive moves, like emailing her an article by the Washington Post with the headline, "Digital ad spending to surpass traditional print and TV ads." She rolls her eyes internally at the memory.

But Patrick is just a nuisance, the symptom of a problem, not the actual reason behind her introspective mood this evening.

"You'll just have to win him over - you said it yourself when he was hired," Ian reminds her. "If anyone can make a person see reason, it's you."

Jacqueline nods again, managing a tight smile in response to Ian's encouragement even though his words irk her for some reason. Her husband's seemingly unwavering faith in her can be a comfort at times, but mostly, paradoxically, it makes it difficult for her to open up about what's troubling her. Which is why Jacqueline rarely brings work home. She does that to maintain the semblance of a normal life, yes, and to devote the limited free time she has solely to her husband and children, but she'd be lying if she didn't admit it's also about the fact she doesn't know how to share certain things with him.

Things like the fact she's had a knot in her stomach since Paris - one that, contrary to expectations, didn't go away when Patrick was hired and Jacqueline learned she'd lost digital. The impending sense of doom that came in the heels of Fashion Week never went away - in fact, she feels it more and more acutely as time goes by.

With her tenth anniversary at Scarlet approaching, one that will be celebrated with a gala (Scarlet wouldn't be Scarlet without a big party to mark the occasion after all), it's both unnerving and sad that every bone in her body is telling her she's on borrowed time. Jacqueline's response has been to push back at those feelings by being as dedicated to her job as ever.

"We must get it right," she urgently told her staff as she unveiled her plans for the new season a couple of weeks ago, and proceeded to ask more of them than she ever had before. Re-working the entire month's issue with less than 24 hours before they went to press was just the latest in a series of decisions of hers that had every Scarlet employee in a state of high alert, everyone's anxiety levels going through the roof. Andrew's quip to her about 'hurt feelings' was an indicator she should probably take it down a notch or two, as watching everyone else around her explode as she herself imploded wouldn't fix anything and brought her absolutely no satisfaction. Jacqueline Carlyle's rule is not, and never was, based on terror, her subordinates' respect and admiration earned, never imposed.

But as hard as she's been working, she feels like she's doing nothing but rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic - with Jacqueline herself being the Titanic in this scenario.

 _Nothing lasts forever_ , she reminds herself, but it's a thought that brings her no comfort, and she's brought back to the present by the feeling of Ian squeezing her shoulder, before he starts clearing the dishes.

 

* * *

 

 

"I have a story," Jane says, taking advantage of Andrew's absence out front to get in her boss' office unannounced.

"The time to share that would have been at the pitch meeting, which unfortunately ended a couple of hours ago," Jane hears her say as she stands behind her desk looking at layout photos.

"I didn't... want to talk about it in front of the others," Jane tries next, approaching her desk, but Jacqueline still isn't looking at her, distracted by something on her laptop. Clearing her throat, she blurts it out. "Pamela Dolan."

"The photographer?"

"I think she has been abusing her models."

Well, that gets her boss' attention. Jacqueline's leaning over the desk looking down but immediately raises her eyes to look at Jane. "'You think?' That's a serious allegation," she says, straightening up and furrowing her eyebrows. "What have you got?"

Jane's heart starts beating faster in response to Jacqueline's scrutiny. "I talked to one of the victims."

"They willing to go on record?"

"I-- I haven't been able to convince her. Yet. But--"

"Do you have anything else? Someone that can corroborate her story?"

Jane closes her mouth, frustrated, finally admitting with a sigh, "No."

"Jane, I can't run something based on the shaky, not to mention reluctant, words of an alleged victim - no matter how credible her story may seem to you."

"But I know I can convince her to give me more, I just need--"

"It's not just that. It's not the right time for this story."

"Not the right time? It's a #metoo story. We're talking about a woman in our business who's in a position of authority taking advantage of that position to hurt people."

"Jane, I--", Jacqueline starts, but she's looking down again, shaking her head in a way that's painfully familiar, and she doesn't even need to finish her sentence for Jane to know how this is going. She's been here before.

"When you said we needed new fashion spreads we re-worked practically the entire issue in less than 17 hours. You gave that whole speech saying you want to do better. That we're supposed to be a leader in empowering women. Now you're shooting me down? This is important!" The moment Jane finishes talking, and there's dead silence in the room, she realizes she was yelling. She knows she crossed a line when Jacqueline's mouth forms a thin line, her eyes shooting daggers at Jane. Normally she'd be terrified of being on the receiving end of a look like that from her boss, all but running out the door with her tail between her legs, but now? Now she's too frustrated to care.

When she stumbled upon this story, Jane's spidey senses tingled and she knew she had something big in her hands. Knowing Jacqueline's past, both as a survivor of sexual assault and as an investigative reporter who never shied away from asking the tough questions, her response was disappointing, to say the least.

"I've made my decision. You can go now." Jacqueline's voice is low and soft, but still deadly, and it feels like a slap in the face.

Jane sustains eye contact, refusing to break it first. As soon as Jacqueline adverts her gaze, deciding she's done with her, she leaves, fuming.

* * *

 

"Grrrrrrrrrrrr."

"Easy there, tiger," Ryan says with a chuckle, sitting on the couch next to Jane, who's growling with a pillow pressed against her face.

Removing the pillow and hugging it against her chest, Jane takes a breath and turns her head to look at him. "Why won't she let me do it?"

"I don't know - maybe because the last time she listened to you she ended up fired?"

When Jane prepares to say something, he cuts her off, "Fired from digital, sure, but the woman was still fired."

"This is different. It's not a story attacking the board, for one--"

"It's still controversial. Pamela Dolan is a well-respected photographer who's collaborated with Scarlet many a time."

That gives Jane pause. She never stopped to consider that, but the woman could even have friends on the board, for all she knew.

"Talk to Jacqueline, ask her why she doesn't want to run it," Ryan suggests with a shrug.

"That's not how it works, I don't just... ask Jacqueline things." Especially things regarding her motivations or her decision-making process, ponders Jane. That's not what their relationship is about. There's a clear boss-employee line there, one that Jacqueline is occasionally forced to cross whenever Jane is spiraling out of control about some drama in her life. But it's all definitely... calculated, not to mention one-sided.

It's a realization that makes her a little sad.

"It's just a question about a story you pitched. She likes you, just ask her."

"She'll just say something about it not being the right time," Jane explains. "Plus, you didn't see how mad she looked," she adds, playing with the fringes of the pillow. Truth be told she's a little scared to talk to Jacqueline following her mini outburst in her office. After she got out of her office, Jane grabbed her bag and went straight home, but wouldn't stop checking her phone for a text from Andrew saying she was fired.

At least this time it didn't happen in the bullpen in front of the entire staff since it had been around lunch time. But she knows she owes her boss an apology for her behavior, even if she has no regrets about pitching the story to her in the first place.

"Maybe she's not as angry as you think," argues Ryan.

"I guess I'll find out," Jane says, looking at the time on her phone before getting up from the couch, giving Ryan a quick peck on the lips.

"What? You're doing this now?" he says, but she's already opening the door.

* * *

 

"Can I come in?" Just as Jane expected, the floor is nearly empty, as it's past 8pm, but Jacqueline is in her office.

"That depends," Jacqueline replies, looking down at some papers on her desk before removing her reading glasses and staring at Jane. "Do you plan on yelling at me again? Because if that's the case I think you going straight to HR would save us both time and energy."

So much for Jacqueline not being angry. She could punch Ryan in the teeth for suggesting she do this. Jane feels her legs start to shake a little as she takes a few hesitant steps into the office, and then she quickly reassures her boss. "Ah... no, I have zero plans to do that."

Jacqueline still has a dead serious look on her face when Jane admits, "Not that I had plans to do that last time, it just... happened."

Jacqueline stares at her for a while before her body language changes, and she visibly relaxes, "Well, see that it doesn't happen again."

Jane could cry in relief. "Yes. I'm sorry. Really."

"Hmmm."

"I came to apologize. I... shouldn't have yelled or tried to twist your arm about this story. It's just that..."

Jacqueline abandons her work with a heavy sigh and gives Jane her full attention, crossing her arms waiting for her to continue.

Jane takes her seat across from her. "If you talked to this girl you would-- I've never seen someone so... broken."

Jacqueline's eyes soften then. "I understand. You know... I understand."

Jane nods. Jacqueline shared something with her that she'd only shared with a couple of people over the years. She feels honored and humbled by that. As much as she knows Jacqueline did it because she was finally ready to tell the world, it doesn't change the fact she trusted Jane with something deeply painful and personal.

"But we need more. You know that, too."

"I do," Jane says, looking down and playing with her hands on her lap. She can't help by smile at Jacqueline saying "we".

"Which is why... I'm gonna give you time to look into it."

Jane's head snaps up so quickly her neck hurts.

"And help you with whatever you need that's within my reach."

"But..."

"But what? I thought that's what you wanted." She smirks then, for the first time in their last two encounters she has the semblance of a smile on her face and Jane is so happy by the sight she almost laughs.

"I just... you didn't want to run it."

"There are... reasons why this is not the best idea on my part," says Jacqueline, thoughtful. By she stops there and doesn't elaborate. "But I'm still gonna do it."

"I don't want you to get fired," blurts out Jane, who widens her eyes as she appears to be shocked by her own words.

Jacqueline cocks her head to the side and smiles indulgently at her.

"I already cost you digital."

" _You_ didn't cost me anything. I explained to you..."

"Yeah, yeah, you know that, I know that, but the buck stopped with me," says Jane. She chuckles, trying to lighten the mood, "You do realize that if you're fired because the board doesn't like this story I'll forever be known as the writer who got Jacqueline Carlyle fired. _Twice_."

Jacqueline chuckles. "Let _me_ worry about that."

Jane sighs, turning her gaze heavenwards, and Jacqueline says, leaning forward on her desk, "I'll tell you what - if I'm fired I'll put out a statement saying you had nothing to do with it."

Jane snorts, shaking her head, before turning serious. "You'd still be gone. That can't happen."

Jacqueline's eyes sparkle and she gives Jane the most beautiful smile she's seen in her life. It takes her breath away.

"Then we won't let it happen. We'll write the best story to ever grace the pages of Scarlet Magazine."

 _"We?"_ immediately asks Jane.

Jacqueline smiles once again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What you guys are probably going to notice reading this chapter is that this story is kinda... plot-driven, in terms of there being a piece that Jane and Jacqueline are working on, and we actually get to see them working on it here - it's not just mentioned in passing as an excuse for their characters to interact. The story is also very Jane-heavy and explores her relationship with Ryan. (I believe I'll also be exploring Jacqueline's relationship with Ian some). It's a departure for me but I hope you enjoy it. I just feel like giving you a warning because if you're here just for J/J interactions, you're going to be disappointed, I'm afraid. At least until we reach a certain point in this story.

"Hi. Is this a bad time?"

Oliver, who's fitting a model for an outfit, turns his head away from her torso to look at Jane standing at the door. "Jacqueline said you'd be dropping by," he says. Then he helps the girl off the stool where she was standing and claps his hands. "You heard her, give us the room."

Jane watches and smiles at his two assistants and the model as they hurry past her at the door, before getting in and closing it behind her.

"What can I do for you, Jane Sloan?" Oliver asks, taking his place behind his desk and motioning for her to approach him. Jane grabs the chair from Sutton's desk and takes a seat in front of him.

"I'm working on a story and was wondering if you could help me with... information."

"Information... what kind of information?"

Oliver's impatient tone indicates has no time to waste and Jane likes that about him. "Pamela Dolan."

"Ah," he says, and his eyebrows shoot up for a moment before his neutral mask slips back in place. "What about her?"

"You've worked with her before, right?"

"Yes, we've crossed paths professionally on a couple of occasions. Here at Scarlet, included."

"I've heard some things..."

"Things? What things?"

Here's that impatient tone again. Jane clears her throat. "Allegations of sexual misconduct, to be more precise."

Oliver's eyes cloud then. "I see."

"Have you seen anything? Heard... anything to that effect?"

Oliver sighs and appears to mull something over before finally deciding to share it. "You have to understand that in this industry, one hears many things. Some of which have merit, some of which don't. But in most cases, with all the egos involved and people crawling over each other to get to the top, it's simply impossible to tell which is which."

Jane sighs, and maybe Oliver notices her frustration because he elaborates, "I haven't personally witnessed anything... shady but I have heard some rumblings about Pamela over the years."

"What sort of rumblings?"

It's Oliver's turn to sigh. "Verbal and emotional abuse on set. Inappropriate requests and physical contact during shoots. All chalked up to 'artistic vision' and 'temperamental artist' behavior," he says, doing air quotes.

"So we're talking Terry Richardson in a skirt here?"

"Possibly," agrees Oliver, nodding at Jane. "Allegedly. And just like him, Pamela has enough star power to insulate herself so nothing really sticks."

"That may have worked for Terry, but only up to a point," points out Jane, absentmindedly.

"You want my advice?"

Jane nods.

"Drop it."

Her face falls.

"A woman as powerful as Pamela Dolan will do whatever it takes to protect her career. "

Jane doesn't say anything, but her shoulders straighten and she juts her chin out defiantly. The idea of giving up on this story is laughable at this point. Oliver has done nothing but steel her resolve.

"You're really not going to listen to me, are you?" he asks in a flat tone, peering at Jane from under his glasses.

She has a small, tight smile on her face when she says, "Not a chance."

Oliver is still shaking his head when Jane thanks him for his time and leaves.

* * *

 

"Hey," greets Jacqueline, waving Jane into her office. "How did it go with Oliver?"

"I don't even know," she replies, closing the door and approaching her boss' treadmill like a soldier reporting back from duty. "He didn't give me anything concrete but I'm more convinced than ever that we have a story."

Jacqueline appears neither surprised or disappointed at the news. She just walks and watches Jane attentively. "Well, in that case..." she starts after a moment, pressing a couple of buttons on the machine until it slows down and comes to a halt.

Leaning over the treadmill she asks, like Jane is running point and has all the answers, "What's the next step?"

"I-- I tried to talk to Lori, the girl that started this whole thing," Jane explains. "But she's not picking up her phone and I don't know how else to reach her."

Jacqueline presses a couple more buttons and then she's walking again. "Seems to me like you're gonna have to work around her, at least for the time being."

Jane stares at her boss, not knowing what to say. She must look as lost as she feels, because Jacqueline is all patience when she offers, "You need to go back. When did Lori and Pamela work together?"

"At a photo shoot for Condé Nast last month," Jane explains, frustrated. "I looked into it, it was a closed set. No one was around."

"Oliver did say she's shot for us before..." she hastens to add, her voice a murmur as if she's speaking more to herself than to her boss.

Jacqueline nods, and her lips quirk. Jane immediately knows she's on the right track.

"So I guess... the best place to start would be--"

"-- our archives, yes. What a fine idea," Jacqueline finishes in a congenial tone of voice, and Jane immediately knows she's been thinking of it all along.

"You could've just told me that, you know," Jane deadpans.

"I could have," Jacqueline concedes. "But I knew you'd get there eventually," she concludes with a wink, getting off her treadmill and touching Jane's shoulder as she passes her on her way to her desk.

* * *

 

Jane knows she is going to have to expand her search, and that eventually, she'll end up combing through Pamela Dolan's entire career, but what a better place to start than Scarlet Magazine. It should've been obvious to her from the get-go, but something about Jacqueline standing in front of her asking point blank what her next move was gonna be made Jane just a little slow in the uptake. But her boss didn't leave her hanging - she guided Jane's thought process and made sure she reached the conclusion she needed to in order to keep her little investigation going. Of course she did.

Jane's in the cafeteria with Sutton and Kat, and so lost in her own head she only snaps out of it at Sutton's gentle teasing. "When you're daydreaming about bae..."

"What?" Jane looks up at her. It takes a couple of beats for the penny to drop but Jane finally realizes Sutton is talking about Ryan. "No," she says, blinking fast and shaking her head. "I was thinking about my story, actually."

Sutton's teasing smile immediately turns into a confused frown. "Your #metoo story?"

"Yep," Jane says. "I'm waiting for Angela from archives to get back to me, she's pulling up Scarlet's issues featuring Pamela for me."

"Meanwhile, you could try actually eating your lunch," Kat scolds, gesturing to Jane's plate of food.

"Yes, mom," Jane jokes. She's too full of restless energy to be hungry but doesn't want Kat and Sutton on her back about it so she attempts to make a dent in her chicken salad, as she listens to Kat and Sutton's chatter. The topic of their conversation doesn't hold Jane's interest and she's soon back to thoughts of Pamela and Lori and what she needs to do next.

"There you are," she hears Ryan's voice behind her and doesn't hide her surprise when she turns around and sees him, hands in his pockets and a confused smile on his face. "I've been trying to call you."

Jane frowns as she picks up her phone in her purse. She realizes that she left it on silent and sees several missed calls and texts from Ryan.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to turn the ringer back on after a meeting earlier," she explains, accepting a peck on the lips from him. "But what are you doing here?"

"We were supposed to meet up for lunch at that bistro a few blocks away."

Jane's stare is blank. "Since when?"

"Since this morning? We talked about it just before you left for work?" he says, trying to jog her memory.

She tries to remember their conversation early that day but comes up empty. When she meets her friends' eyes, they offer her shrugs, which means she didn't mention anything to them either. "Nothing. I'm sorry," she says, shooting him an apologetic look. Luckily her boyfriend seems more amused than annoyed. "Hey, why don't you grab something here, I'm almost done but I'll keep you company."

"Sure," he says, and leaves to get his food.

Jane has a guilty look on her face as she watches him leave. "Ugh, I feel bad."

"You have a lot on your mind with your new story," Sutton comforts her. "I'm sure he gets it."

Jane believes he gets it, at least in theory. If anyone would understand what she's going through right now, it's another writer.

Kat starts telling Sutton and Jane about a conversation she had with Patrick earlier that day, and this time to topic holds Jane's attention. But then Jane's phone wakes up. Her eyes zero in on a message from Angela on her lock screen.

_"I have your magazines. Come by whenever."_

"I gotta go," she says immediately, getting up and grabbing her bag.

It all happens so fast that by the time Kat realizes what's happening and yells out, "Uh, Jane--", she's almost out of sight.

Sutton and Kat watch her go incredulously. The blonde pulls out her phone to text her when Ryan returns, tray in hand, and asks, "Where's Jane?"

The two girls exchange a look.

* * *

 

_"Forget something when you left?"_

Jane's brows furrow. She's in the archive room, elbows-deep in issues of Scarlet, old, old-ish and new-ish, sorting them out in stacks when she gets Sutton's message in the group chat. Jane obviously has her phone with her, and she knows her wallet is in her bag. So she just texts back a question mark and goes back to work.

The next message she receives makes her gasp out loud, attracting Angela's attention on the desk next to her.

_"Tall... dark... handsome... forgotten about twice in the same day. Ring any bells?"_

"Oh, shit. Shit shit shit..." curses Jane, getting up and going to a corner of the room for privacy. When Ryan picks up the phone she doesn't give him time to greet her before she starts talking. "I'm so sorry..."

She hears him sigh on the other end of the line. _"Jane--"_

"There is no excuse. I--I don't know what's wrong with my head right now."

_"Look, it's obvious you're caught up in... whatever it is you're doing. I want to spend time with you, but I don't want to be in your way."_

Jane hasn't updated him other than to say Jacqueline ended up changing her mind and approving her pitch when she got home from Scarlet that night.

"You're not in my way," she protests. "I want to tell you what's going on, and I want to spend time with you."

Jane can't help but recall how bumpy things got between them when she tried to keep her egg freezing process away from Ryan. She doesn't him to think this is what's happening here.

 _"But what I'm getting here is that now clearly is not a good time,"_ he concludes.

Jane wants to protest again, but she knows he's right. Right now she's all but consumed with thoughts of this investigation of hers to pay her boyfriend the attention he deserves.

_"How about this? As soon as things settle down a bit, and you feel you're in a good place with your story, you call me. I'll be there."_

"You're not mad?"

_"I'm not mad. I've been where you are, Sloan. We're fine."_

"Ok," she mumbles, flopping back down on her chair. "I'll call you tonight."

Jane has a feeling nothing will be settled by tonight, and that she won't be calling Ryan to come over, but she still wants to reach out to him and not feel like the worst girlfriend in the world.

 _"Don't make promises you can't keep,"_ he teases. And the sad part is, Jane knows that if she doesn't set an alarm to remind her to call him tonight, she'll probably end up forgetting it. Forgetting him. Again.

"I'm not. Bye..."

_"Go get them, tiger."_

Jane chuckles and Ryan disconnects the call. Resting her head in her hands for a moment, she is about to dive right back into her pile of magazines when she gets another text.

_"Where are you?"_

This time, it's from Patrick Duchand.

* * *

 

Patrick is sitting down on the corner of her desk, typing on his phone, when she arrives.

"There she is," he greets her, opening her arms. "I was about to send out a search party."

Jane manages a small, embarrassed smile, as Patrick attracted a few curious glances from her colleagues with his exuberant welcome.

"Yeah, sorry about that, I was--"

"I even went to this magical place called the fashion closet looking for you," he says, cutting her off. "A little birdie told me there's where Scarlet's most famous trio of besties can be found during office hours whenever they're not actually doing their jobs."

The thought of Patrick sniffing around in the fashion closet feels like a violation. Jane swallows dry and ignores her feelings for the time being. She needs to ask him for a favor after all.

"I was down in archives doing some research. You see, I stumbled upon a story. I talked to Jacqueline about it--"

"So you had a pitch and took it to Jacqueline instead of... me." Patrick is speaking like he's reciting something in order to better understand it. Jane doesn't know what to say to that, but Patrick doesn't give her a chance to. "Old habits die hard, ok, I get it, continue..."

"I just felt it was better suited for print," Jane quickly justifies, which is a flimsy excuse at best, and she doesn't even know why she bothers. "Anyhow, she approved it and she's helping me with it. I asked her if I could tell you about it myself, since--"

"Since you work for me now," he finishes. "I'm surprised you remembered that. Keep going..."

"So I was wondering if you could let me go until Jacqueline and I are done with this story we're working on. Since it's quite big and... time-consuming." As soon as she finishes talking Jane knows she has no chance in hell.

"Yeah, but here's the thing - that was not the deal. Jacqueline and I were supposed to share you for the time being, which I agreed with because you seemed... reluctant to sever ties with the print magazine." Patrick smiles in that smarmy way of his, that makes Jane want to do all sorts of things, all of which would most certainly get her fired. "Which I respect," he says, bowing slightly, a hand on his chest, "Even if I don't understand."

"Yeah, that was so nice of you." Jane's monotone more than betrays her sarcasm but he's either not picking up on her cues or he doesn't give a damn, because there's no change in his expression.

"Jane, a deal is a deal. I'm willing to play nice and share but I need a full-time writer, and I picked you. The board was on board..." He chuckles, but Jane doesn't even crack a smile at his pathetic attempt at a joke. "Jacqueline... well, Jacqueline had no choice but be on board..."

That does make Jane smile. The thought of Jacqueline fighting to keep her filling her chest with warmth.

"You need to do your job."

"Since you give me no choice, I'll do it," she agrees. "But since Jacqueline approved my pitch and I'm also working for the magazine, I'm still writing that piece with her - just to be clear."

"Oh, you're writing it _with_ Jacqueline?" Patrick doesn't hide his surprise. "How nice."

"Do we have an agreement?"

Patrick narrows his eyes as he smiles and nods at her. "You're not going to make things easy for you, are you?"

 _Not if I can help it,_ she wants to say. "I'm not trying to make things difficult. I just want to do my job to the best of my ability."

"Happy to hear it," Patrick says, hopping off her desk. "You can start by submitting a rough draft by tomorrow."

"Rough draft-- rough draft of what?"

"Of your story for the dot-com."

"What... story?" She has just submitted her and Ryan's story from her egg freezing process.

"The one I tell you to write, from the ideas you're pitching me by 5pm today."

Jane takes a deep breath and tries not to panic. She watches Patrick leave with another one of his smarmy smiles and a greeting of namaste, and then faceplants on her desk.


End file.
